dispute vs tug of war

dispute

noun
  • Verbal controversy or disagreement; altercation; debate. 

  • An argument or disagreement, a failure to agree. 

verb
  • to make a subject of disputation; to argue pro and con; to discuss 

  • to strive or contend about; to contest 

  • to oppose by argument or assertion; to controvert; to express dissent or opposition to; to call in question; to deny the truth or validity of 

  • to contend in argument; to argue against something maintained, upheld, or claimed, by another. 

tug of war

noun
  • A dispute between two parties, particularly an entrenched, back-and-forth dispute. 

  • A game or competition in which two teams pull or tug on opposite ends of a rope trying to force the other team over the line which initially marked the middle between the two teams. 

How often have the words dispute and tug of war occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )